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10 comments:

School Improvement Network, http://www.schoolimprovement.com/, is a for profit, on-line professional development network for teachers.

I would like to know specifically what "Classroom and School Management Strategies That Brought Her District Unprecedented Success". Especially since PPS teachers have reported that "managing student conduct" is keeping them from being highly effective teachers. (see slide #10, http://www.pps.k12.pa.us/17022012713193237/lib/17022012713193237/TLE_2011_AIU_presentation.pdf)

The Broad and Gates Foundations must be funding this School Improvement Network.

There is such a need for an expose that I cannot believe that some young investigative reporter does not want to make a name for his or her self by uncovering this and earning spotlight coverage in Education Week and the New York Times.

Isn't it amazing that PPS has money for an incredible amount of people who ARE NOT in the classroom and have nothing to do with your kid's education BUT will fire 400 teachers this spring and many more thanks to RISE????Doesn't anyone out there think this is outrageous?

Let's be clear as our union membership is now screaming RISE took us to an easy process for dismissal. Let me remind all of us that instead of standing up to Tarka, Esposito, Van Horn, Gensure, Wilson, and Hileman our membership followed them to the river just as the rats did with the Piper.

During RISE meetings, teacher representatives argued that they did not know what their principal thought of their practice since there were only two possible ratings: satisfactory or unsatisfactory. Our PFT members that represented our schools at RISE meetings nodded their heads in approval that they were now a part of the collective process.

Teachers then complained adding evidence in their RISE folder would be "burdensome paperwork." So what did we do? Our PFT membership supported the fact that it was primarily the responsibility of the school administrator to documnet evidence in our RISE portfolio. Teachers could add evidence but the fact is the majority FAIL to do so! So now with terminations piling up, we are yelling foul play.

We received exactly what our school representatives drafted and our PFT Leadership endorsed: a systemic process to interpret one's success or failure as a classroom teacher. We spoke of support systems to assit teachers in improving their practice and what we received was an easy package that we agreed to, "How to collect and document evidence to dismiss a teacher." As we are now witnessing the pile up of resignations on the board minutes, we have no one else to blame but ourselves.

Our membership was sold out by our PFT Leaders and school representatives who drank the kool-aid for the promise of additional compensation. What were we thinking? WE weren't! It's time for a change in our Union Leadership. I suggest we vote them out but they all should do the honorable thing: resign or retire! Let's take back "OUR UNION!"

The individual school Union Reps are highly protected from being RISED OUT by their Principals because they are ITLS and Team Leaders-you cannot hire a lawyer other than the Union. RISE is SUBJECTIVE AND NOT OBJECTIVE